Former Chief Executive Alan Hardy has shared some of his memories of the late Jimmy Frizzell, who passed away yesterday aged 79.

Alan recalled: “My memories go back to April 1981 when I joined the club and Jimmy was manager here at the time.

“When you come as a rookie to a football club and you meet the manager for the first time, you are always a bit wary of how you are going to be accepted, but there was no problem with Jimmy.

"He welcomed you on board and knew you had a job to do. He accepted that you had to be involved in certain things and he just got on with it.

“It was helpful from my point of view to have someone like that but unfortunately it was only around 12 months I was able to work with him.

“I would have liked to have worked with him much longer but we still kept in touch and met regularly after he left Oldham Athletic because he continued to live in the area so that was a good thing as well.”

Jimmy built a successful team on the pitch for Oldham Athletic supporters to be proud of but he will also be remembered for his playing days as well.

“He was a tenacious player on the pitch and scored plenty of goals from the position he played,” explained Alan.

"He was well liked off the pitch as well. The fans absolutely loved him and he brought some wonderful players to the club, who are Latics legends and will always be remembered as well.”

Summing up Jimmy’s character, Alan said: "Jimmy was a true gentleman. He was great to work with, very approachable and always had time for anybody.

"He was a legend of the club as a player and even more so as a manager because he brought tremendous success.

“His achievements will be etched into the history of the club forever, and nobody will ever forget him.”